We are all familiar with the scene from A River Runs Through It where Brad Pitt’s character is on the rock casting and he's going back and forth and back and forth and he calls it Shadow Casting. It's a striking scene of growing up but what's the practicality of it? Not much, and even those who "can" shadow cast admit to it being nothing more than a parlour trick, our words, not theirs, and it in fact does not coax a rainbow to rise. In the world of more useful casting there's the Spey Cast. The Spey is beautiful and on rivers where needed it is the only way to get large flies to monstrous sea-run salmonids. Then there's the double or single haul, the roll cast, the steeple cast. We're gonna let you in on a little secret, in fact a Small Water Secret, you're not going to be using many of those casts!What do we mean, aren't we fly-fishing. Isn't the beauty of fly-fishing in the casting, the loop of fly-line running forward, unraveling and softly lighting upon the water in front of a waiting trout? Well, when done right is sure is a beautiful sight, but on a small stream you'll end up in the trees long before you're able to get the fly on the water. Get comfortable with the fact that you'll never spey cast on a small stream, you may perform a standard overhead cast, possibly a roll cast, definitely a "flick" cast and more times than you would like to admit, the dapping.Small waters mean tight quarters, many times you'll have tree limbs over your head, you might be in the middle of a willow thicket trying to keep out of view of that one trout in the beaver pond, there might be boulders that you just can't cast around. This is all the provenance of small water fishing. It's part of the beauty of fishing in water that few rarely choose to fish.

Dapping is simply extending the fly rod out over the pocket or pool that you want to fish and softly letting the fly drop to the water. There is no beauty in dapping, but there is an art, Don Miller has even written a book about it and has caught large fish using the technique. It's a technique used for the most tight of quarters, when a cast in impossible due to obstacles or because it might scare the fish. And to be honest, dapping is going to coax a rainbow to rise way before shadow casting ever will.Many times on small water you will literally have a foot or two of fly line out. For anyone with enough understanding of our sport, it's the fly line that does the work of casting, when you only have a few feet of fly line out there is no way to cast correctly. Instead, you’re going to perform the "flick" cast. To perform the "flick" cast, get out enough line to get to the pool or pocket that you want to fish. Next, look to see where tree limbs are, you want to make sure your flick stays out of the trees. Finally, flick the line into the pool or pocket. Basically, the "flick" cast is a modified roll cast that doesn't use the tension of the line on the water to load the rod, since, to be honest, there's no, or almost no, fly line on the water.Don't forget about the bow and arrow cast. Grab the fly line, pull it back and put some tension on the rod tip. Aim the rod tip where you want shoot the line and then let go. Just as if you were shooting an arrow from a bow. It's an effective cast to get into tight places with a lot of overhead shrubbery. Just be careful not to hook yourself with that rushing arrow, er, hook!Now, if you're really lucky you may get the chance to perform a simple overhead cast. Sometimes the stars align and you find a pool that has a long stretch of stream behind it and nothing overhead. Here is the time to break out that overhead cast and get that fly to the far end of the pool. It's always great on a small stream to luck into these pools and really get that line out.The worst thing a small water neophyte runs into is tangled line. It's not fun to untie a fly from a tree branch and it's even less fun to lose a fly to a limb too high to reach. By forgetting those fancy casts and focusing on the easiest way to get the fly on the water will stave off some of these troubles. Fly fishing isn't fly casting!As always, Good Luck and Guid Luck!

Fly-fishing, if your objective is to catch fish, is a sport that requires the fisherman to be crafty as he approaches each spot along the river. Everyone has had the experience of walking up on a pool that happened to be as clear as champagne and watch every single fish in that pool scatter to the bank, never to take a fly again. This is frustrating and can turn a good day into a bad one quickly.To stop this from happening means that we need to take the time to actually make a game plan. Take a look at the following photo, examine it for a minute and plan how you would fish this stretch of the stream:

There are many ways to approach this stretch of the creek, but you need to slow down and examine what you're doing because some of them will guarantee that you won't catch a fish in this stretch. Here's our standard way of approaching it, and we regularly pull at least two or three fish out of this single stretch on each fishing trip.

1) Take into account that the water is nearly champagne clear. The fish are going to see you well before you see them, stalking and getting low is going to be key.

2) Getting low will also help keep your flies out of the overhanging branches that are all trying to tangle you up.

3) Now, get behind the rock and fish through this stretch, make sure that you get behind and near the rocks. Also, note that "A" is a larger boulder (compared to the other rocks around it) that is submerged. Fish around the submerged boulder since it still acts like a rock that is partially out of the water, allowing fish to hole up behind and in front of it.

4) Stay low and work your way out into the stream a little bit. Fish through this stretch of the water, once again, make note of the standard holding areas between, in front of, and behind all rocks.

5) Carefully work your way behind the set of boulders in the middle of the water. Remember, stay low! Now work the head of this stretch, hitting both sides.

6) Now, work your way to the left side of the boulders you were just hiding behind. Throw your fly up into the riffle that leads into the pool, hitting both sides of the white water, and maybe a couple through the white water for good measure.

7) Work your way to your next spot and make sure that you plan out how you're going to fish it.

One wrong step in this hole could be a disaster. By taking the time to plan out exactly how you're going to fish a stretch of water will either make or break a good day on the river. As always, Good Luck and Guid Luck!

Take a minute and think about what the primary life purpose of your local Trout is. I can almost, 99.999% guarantee that they’re not contemplating the meaning of life. No, they’re trying to survive and pass along their genetic information to the next generation. Trying to survive means two things: 1) Avoid anything that can kill you, and 2) eat, eat, and eat some more!For this post, we’re going to focus primarily on number 2, eat, eat, and eat some more. Fish do not take the time for a hobby or a pastime, if they’re not hiding from a careless fisherman or a errant shadow, they are spending their time munching on anything that comes down stream to them. What your trout are eating is also dependent on various factors, the largest being, what is most readily available, followed by, do the benefits outweigh the cost.Conventional fly-fishing wisdom would dictate that the most available food source is sub-surface, i.e., nymphs and the possible leech, sculpin, or other baitfish. Unless there is a hatch happening, you’re going to catch fish by fishing under the surface, either using nymphs or streamers. This is because that’s where to food is, below the surface, and necessarily, that’s where the trout’s attention is.This conventional wisdom has led many to throw out the dries, unless a hatch is happening. And for the most part that is the smartest move, but it’s not for the reason that we think though. We need to get over the idea that trout, and other fish, are geniuses. If they were, they would notice the monofilament come from the head of their next meal! But, they are efficient at what they do. When there is a smorgasbord of nymphs coming down the stream, why would a fish look up at a lonely caddisfly floating on the surface?

If a fish is, let’s say, three feet below the surface, the energy output to gobble up that caddisfly is not equal to the nutrition and calories gained by eating that single caddisfly. Therefore, they don’t give the caddisfly, or any other dry fly, a second look. It’s all biological, it’s not because the caddisfly looks out of place. Think for a second, have you ever been on a stream or river and noticed that there are plenty of fly insect around, perhaps a caddis or mayfly that wants to land on your arm or cheek? They’re there, it’s just that there are not enough present at the time to turn the fish’s attention to the surface versus subsurface.During a hatch, though, there is an influx of bugs on or near the surface, to turn the fish’s attention to the surface and they quickly forget about the bottom. Once again, the energy gained from the surface now outweighs the energy output to eat at the surface. Now, this is all conventional wisdom, and as with most rules, they are meant to be broken. Have you ever been on a river, no hatch happening at all, and there are a few strikes on the surface? Of course you have. It happens and that’s why throwing a dry works sometimes, because fish happen to be in the right place that the dry makes enough energy smart sense.But, we’re going to throw conventional wisdom out the window when we start to fish small rivers and streams. For the most part, small streams, creeks, and rivers change the feeding lanes and times for the water inhabitants.

Regarding feeding times, small streams are generally mountain streams, and those mountains streams mean short growing seasons. Because the season is so short, fish need to take advantage of every food opportunity that comes their way. Also, these short seasons change the hatch, mating, and life cycle of aquatic insects, meaning that it’s a lot more random than it is in larger waterways.Small streams mean small feeding lanes. In larger rivers and streams, the distance between subsurface and surface feeding lanes can be feet. However, in a small stream it can 8 inches. Now the energy output is less and perhaps that caddisfly can make up for the expenditure. Fish can now feed in multiple lanes because those feeding lanes have effectively merged into one.Small stream fishing has thrown out conventional wisdom and when we look at the reasons why, we come up with a compelling reason to fish with dries, and why they’re effective. First, food choice is lessened on a small stream, nymphs are not rolling down the river like a smorgasbord but more like a random treat, and second, it’s a lot easier to make it to the surface to get to those bugs. This is why we always use a dry, even when we’re using a nymph.As always, Good Luck and Guid Luck!

A basic understanding of the waters is imperative in becoming a fly-fisherman. The neophyte takes their rod out and casts out to the middle of the stream, regardless of riffle, run, or pool. They may be lucky enough to catch a fish but if they do the fish will be far and few between. The more likely outcome will be frustration and negativity which will end with a rod for sale. To avoid this we need to get to know the water as soon as we possibly can.Getting to know the water is more than just figuring out where the sweet spot is or where all the fish in the water seem to reside. Getting to know the water is learning where , when, and how fish move throughout the waterways. It's riffles, runs, and pools, it's undercuts and pocket water, still and running water. The fly-fisherman is charged with knowing how each and every one of these interact with one another and how the fish use them to their advantage, both in staying safe and maintaining a food source.

When we learn how fish interact with the water we will catch more fish, it's that simple. During the middle of a hot summer day, where are you going to find the fish and what are they going to be snacking on during that time? Is it going to be the same place when it's a cool, overcast day? How about during the evening? Where in the riffle is the best place to throw that hopper that you tied on? All of these questions you should be able to answer once you start to "know thy waters!" Moving and stillwater ecosystems are fairly generic, once you know one you know them all. This is the concept that lets guides and professionals catch so many fish. They can take their knowledge and translate it to new water, knowing that with very little changes, the water works the exact same wherever you are.Along with knowing how the water and the fish interact, the fly fisherman should know what the fish are biting on. If there's a caddis hatch happening and nothing is biting that hopper that you have tied on, it's going to get super frustrating, super quick. Most of the fish are eating subsurface, the best way to find out what they're eating on is to turn over some rocks and take a general census of what the most common type of nymph you can find. But how do you know the mayfly from the caddis nymphs, and what about those monsters, they're grasshopper larva right? Check online, get a book or two, but get comfortable with the aquatic entomology of your local streams, it will pay dividends when you can tell that it's a Green Drake hatch instead of a Blue-Wing Olive one. As always, Good Luck and Guid Luck!